He's faster than KVB and is a beast against guards, so he'll have an easy time handling most tackles. Any real reason we don't just throw him at DE, put SLH/CW at the nose, and sign a cheap FA DE who's good enough to start and call that the D-line? It was just above average last year, what would we lose by trying this and saving a high pick?

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February 8th, 2013, 12:12 pm

LionsFan4Life

Fired Head Coach (0-16 record)

Joined: October 30th, 2004, 12:30 pmPosts: 2205Location: Austin, TX

Re: What's wrong with Nick Fairley at defensive end?

Shotty wrote:

He's faster than KVB and is a beast against guards, so he'll have an easy time handling most tackles. Any real reason we don't just throw him at DE, put SLH/CW at the nose, and sign a cheap FA DE who's good enough to start and call that the D-line? It was just above average last year, what would we lose by trying this and saving a high pick?

Not a bad thought, but I think Suh would be a better fit at DE than Fairley though.

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February 8th, 2013, 12:16 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: What's wrong with Nick Fairley at defensive end?

LionsFan4Life wrote:

Shotty wrote:

He's faster than KVB and is a beast against guards, so he'll have an easy time handling most tackles. Any real reason we don't just throw him at DE, put SLH/CW at the nose, and sign a cheap FA DE who's good enough to start and call that the D-line? It was just above average last year, what would we lose by trying this and saving a high pick?

Not a bad thought, but I think Suh would be a better fit at DE than Fairley though.

Definitely. Fairly is too slow. If we play a DT at DE it would have to be Suh.

February 8th, 2013, 12:18 pm

Shotty

Millen Draft Pick - Epic Bust

Joined: July 3rd, 2012, 2:06 amPosts: 717

Re: What's wrong with Nick Fairley at defensive end?

wjb21ndtown wrote:

LionsFan4Life wrote:

Shotty wrote:

He's faster than KVB and is a beast against guards, so he'll have an easy time handling most tackles. Any real reason we don't just throw him at DE, put SLH/CW at the nose, and sign a cheap FA DE who's good enough to start and call that the D-line? It was just above average last year, what would we lose by trying this and saving a high pick?

Not a bad thought, but I think Suh would be a better fit at DE than Fairley though.

Definitely. Fairly is too slow. If we play a DT at DE it would have to be Suh.

I really like Suh there. It'd be very hard to double team him then, and he'd be monstrous against the run. I wouldn't be mad with making the D-line a superpower by drafting Bjoern Werner at #5, but I'd rather get Fisher or Joeckel, and I'm very confident one will be available when we pick.

He's faster than KVB and is a beast against guards, so he'll have an easy time handling most tackles. Any real reason we don't just throw him at DE, put SLH/CW at the nose, and sign a cheap FA DE who's good enough to start and call that the D-line? It was just above average last year, what would we lose by trying this and saving a high pick?

Not a bad thought, but I think Suh would be a better fit at DE than Fairley though.

Definitely. Fairly is too slow. If we play a DT at DE it would have to be Suh.

I really like Suh there. It'd be very hard to double team him then, and he'd be monstrous against the run. I wouldn't be mad with making the D-line a superpower by drafting Bjoern Werner at #5, but I'd rather get Fisher or Joeckel, and I'm very confident one will be available when we pick.

It's a good idea if they would be willing to move to a more traditional front, but neither guy is what they want for the Wide-9. Both guys would have trouble playing out that wide and turning back in or going around a OT.

KVB was a 4.7 guy coming out of college, he had good speed for a 270 lbs DE and was much more agile then Suh and Fairley are at their size. When the Lions added him to play DE that's the guy they were thinking about from his time with the Titans, not the shell of a player he became last season.

February 8th, 2013, 2:44 pm

sweetd20

Rookie Player of the Year

Joined: October 13th, 2005, 9:03 amPosts: 2399

Re: What's wrong with Nick Fairley at defensive end?

Maybe if you kept Fairley away from the buffet line and threw him on a crossfit workout. In a 3-4 or a Ravens style defense I think he'd do okay but not in Detroit. I'm still not sold on Fairley and his ability to stay healthy and wouldn't be surprised if he weren't in the long term plans. He has at lest one bad foot and has really skinny legs for a man his size, not a good combination for a D-lineman.